| PNAS Conflict of Interest Policy December 2007 |
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PNAS recognizes the multiplicity of financial and other conflicts confronting authors, referees, and editors. PNAS adopted a
new policy in February 2005 that does not aim to eliminate conflict but to manage it. The most important element of our policy
is that all authors, members, referees, and editors must disclose any association that poses a financial conflict of interest in
connection with the manuscript. Authors are required during submission of their manuscripts to complete the online declaration form and to disclose any conflict of interest. The corresponding author must ensure that all authors have been asked to disclose any conflicts of interest. Referees and editors are asked to recuse themselves from handling a paper if the conflict makes them unable to make an impartial scientific judgment or evaluation. A referee or editor who has a conflict but believes that it does not preclude their making a proper judgment must disclose to the journal the nature of the conflict. Divulging a potential conflict usually does not invalidate the research or the comments of a referee or editor; it simply provides the reader information necessary to independently assess the work. A conflict of interest includes a financial association or relationship that could influence the objectivity, integrity, or interpretation of a publication. Such conflicts of interest include relationships with corporations whose products or services are related to the subject matter of the article. These relations include employment, substantive ownership of stock, 1 membership on a standing advisory council or committee, service on the board of directors, or public association with the company or its products. Other areas of conflict of interest could include receiving consulting fees, patent filings, serving as a paid spokesperson, or providing services in exchange for honoraria. When a conflict of interest is disclosed either by the author or editor, a footnote describing the conflict will be included with the published article. PNAS reserves the right to publish an erratum disclosing conflict(s) of interest related to a previously published paper. Authors, referees, or editors who have deliberately or recklessly failed to disclose conflicts of interest may receive sanctions, including being banned from publishing in PNAS for a period of time. This policy applies to all material published in PNAS including research articles, perspectives, editorials, reviews, colloquium papers, and commentaries. For clarification of the policy, please see www.pnas.org/misc/iforc.shtml or contact PNAS at pnas{at}nas.edu. 1 For example, many U.S. universities require faculty members to disclose interests exceeding $10,000 or 5% equity in a company.
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